Top 5 tips for planning your year - a self coaching approach

At this time of year, we often plan out the year ahead.  Research overall supports the idea that if we plan ahead and set goals, we're more likely to reach these.  But I'm also struck by the fact that goal setting often fails (see also my previous blog post on this).  So my challenge to myself was to come up with an optimised, coaching-based approach to planning.  Here are my top 5 tips!

1 Make it resonate

I've heard it said that we generally get the things done that we want to do, and the research bears this out. So what will make planning a process that you're drawn to doing?  Connecting it to your identity could be a good way to achieve this.  

So, some questions we could ask here are:  What will planning out my year enable for me as a creative?  What benefits will it bring?

2 Make it 'funner'

Yes, I just made up a word. (I mean 'more fun', but 'funner', is, well, just funner as far as I'm concerned.) Making it 'funner' likewise aligns with the idea above of making planning something you're drawn to do, but at a more sensory level. 

So a question we could ask here is: What will make the planning an enjoyable or even playful sensory experience? Sit outside in nature, use coloured paper, have a cup of your favourite beverage, play your favourite 'planning' music? (whatever this might be?)

3 Make it flexible

We all know that plans never match up perfectly with real life, in the same way that Google Maps will sometimes tell you to drive into a ditch (true story, but ditch narrowly averted, phew).  Seriously though, if we build in some flexibility and treat the plan as a document which can and will change over the year, we'll have more chance of success than if we treat it as a static prediction fixed at one point in time. 

So some questions we could ask here are:  What could change if X happens (or doesn't happen)? And what if...? And what if... (you get the idea).

4 Acknowledge likely challenges

A psychologist called Gabriele Oettingen has done a heap of interesting research on factors that assist or hinder people in achieving their goals.  What she's found works best is an approach she calls (in technical terms) "mental contrasting with implementation intentions".  In layperson-speak, this means thinking about what internal challenge you might face in putting the plan into practice, and coming up with a specific intention on what you'll do if that happens.  

So the questions we could ask here are somewhat similar to the previous section, but more specific:  What key internal challenge could I face in working towards this outcome?  What will I do if that happens? (e.g, what will I say to myself, or what action will I take?)

5 Build in accountability

We know that accountability helps us to keep monitoring our progress, which in turn helps us to achieve our goals.  

So a question we could ask here is: What will help me stay accountable for this plan, and what step will I take now to help ensure that happens?

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So those are my top 5 tips for a self-coaching approach to planning your year! Ultimately, we know that there will be things we can plan for and things that come up unexpectedly. But by planning ahead and working with the plan as a changing document throughout the year, we can increase our feelings of control, maintain focus on what we truly want and take action towards this. In turn, that leads to greater satisfaction and wellbeing. All pretty good things to aspire to!

I wish you every success with planning and acting on your desired outcomes for the coming year. Echoing my question above, what step could you take now to help ensure that happens?